The present invention relates to an apparatus for swinging a last hopper of automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system.
More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus that aligns the tablets for packaging to fit in the packing wrappers in order to prevent the wrappers from being ripped or distorted in the process of packaging.
A traditional automatic tablet packaging system is shown in FIG. 10. The traditional system has a plurality of tablet cassette (200) on the top of the body (100) and a hopper (300) with a last hopper (301). Also, the system includes a wrapper roll (400), a printing device (500), a driving roller (600), a sealing device (700), and a punching device (800).
As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, in the traditional automatic tablet packaging system, the last hopper (301) was installed at the deck (101) below the hopper (300) in the main frame (101) of the body (100). The shutter controller (303) controls the shutter (302) to open and shut the last hopper (301).
When the rotational member (303b) rotates by a given angle by the motor (303a), the angle shift pin (303c) moves to push the trigger (302a) by a given angle, which rotates the shutter (302) connected to the rotation pin (302b) and opens the bottom of the last hopper (301) in order for the tablet (T) to be released into the wrapper (P).
The tablet (T) is packaged in the wrapper (P) by heat-sealing by the sealing device (700).
After the release, the motor (303a) rotates in reverse direction to shift the angle shift pin (303c) reversely, which releases the push by the angle shift pin (303c) of the trigger (302a) and the elastic pressure on the rotation pin (302b) by the strain spring (302c) to recover the rotation pin (302b) resulting to close the bottom of the last hopper (301).
In the above-mentioned traditional automatic packaging system, however, there have been some problems.
A long tablet standing vertically in the last hopper may fall down into the wrapper keeping its direction. Then, a tip of the tablet could be placed right under the sealing line to be crushed or damaged. Sometimes, the packing wrapper was also damaged. The problem was more serious with a bigger tablet.
Accordingly, a need for an apparatus for swinging a last hopper of automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system has been present for a long time. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.